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Two Letters from Vindolanda
By A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS and J.N. ADAMS
n this article we offer editions of two texts which were discovered at Vindolanda in the
excavation seasons of 1986 and 1988, respectively.1 Both the letters are complete an
are of exceptional interest from the linguistic point of view, as well as for the
information which they yield on a variety of points of military, social and economic histor
i. CHRAUTTIUS TO VELDEDEIUS
1 Both letters were included in a selection of texts which were discussed at seminars in
and March 1989; we are grateful to all those who took part in these seminars for their
particularly indebted to Robin Birley for his help in general and in particular for advi
and to Tony Birley for several important suggestions for readings.
2 In the editions which follow Adams is responsible for the extensive linguistic co
Thomas are jointly responsible for the readings and for comments on all other points (
military, etc.). The following works are referred to in abbreviated form:
Adams, Terentianus: J.N. Adams, The Vulgar Latin of the letters of Claudius Ter
72) (Manchester, 1977)
CPL: R. Cavenaile, Corpus Papyrorum Latinarum (Wiesbaden, 1958)
Davies, SRA: R.W. Davies, Service in the Roman Army (D. Breeze and V. Maxfie
Hofmann-Szantyr: J.B. Hofmann and A. Szantyr, Lateinische Syntax und Stilistik
Kiihner-Stegmann: R. Kiihner and C. Stegmann, Ausfiihrliche Grammatik der latein
rev. by A. Thierfelder (Leverkusen, 1955)
Leumann: M. Leumann, Lateinische Laut- und Formenlehre6 (Munich, 1977)
Neue-Wagener: F. Neue and C. Wagener, Formenlehre der lateinischen Sprache3 (L
OLD: Oxford Latin Dictionary
Svennung, Palladius: J. Svennung, Untersuchungen zu Palladius und zur lateinische
(Lund, 1935)
Tab. Vindol.: A.K. Bowman and J.D. Thomas, Vindolanda: the Latin Writing-Tablets Britannia Mono. Ser. no.
4 (London, 1983)
TLL: Thesaurus Linguae Latinae
Vdininen, Inscript. pomp.: V. Vdiininen, Le latin vulgaire des inscriptions pompeiennes (Berlin, 1966).
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34 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
3 This is the view of Adams. Bowman and Thomas are much less sure.
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 35
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36 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
ii
Translation:
'Chrauttius to Veldeius his brother and old messmate, very many greetings. And I ask
you, brother Veldeius, - I am surprised that you have written nothing back to me for such a
long time - whether you have heard anything from our elders, or about. . . in which unit he
is; and greet him from me in my words and Virilis the veterinary doctor. Ask him (s
Virilis) whether you may send through one of our friends the pair of shears which h
promised me in exchange for money. And I ask you, brother Virilis, to greet from m
our[?] sister Thuttena and Velbuteius. Write back to us how [?] he is.'
(2 hand?) 'It is my wish that you enjoy the best of fortune. Farewell.'
(Back. Ist hand) 'London. To Veldedeius, groom of the governor, from his brothe
Chrauttius.'
Notes
I Chrauttius: we have been unable to find this or a similar name elsewhere; but note the
Tungrian named Chartius, Weisgerber, Rhenania Germano-Celtica, 279 (= AE 1968, 412);
also Rautio, RIB 1620, Crotus, RIB 1525, 1532. We have consulted Professor R.E. Keller
and Professor N. Wagner, who both very kindly supplied us with extensive philological
information, but were unable to establish a decisive etymology. Professor Keller notes that
'<ch> is the general Latin transliteration of Gmc. /x/ before liquids and nasals' (e.g.
Chlotharius, Chnodomarus). This is clearly a question to be left to specialists in Germanic
philology to pursue further if they wish.
Veldeio: here and at 1.4 the addressee is named Veldeius, but at 1.23 Veldedeius. The
name was probably Veldedeius, with Veldeius a syncopated form. This is supported by the
fact that the form Veldedii occurs on a leather offcut from Vindolanda (L.87.-1344),
discovered on the floor of a room near to the find-spot of this tablet and identified as
belonging to equestrian equipment, which is entirely appropriate to our equisio consularis
(see 1.24 and note). The name Vilidedius occurs in RIB 1420, reported as coming from
Housesteads; this might be the same name, and even the same person, as that here. It
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 37
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38 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
6 rescripsti: the shortening of the second person perfect of such sigmatic format
is widely attested from the earliest period: e.g. Plaut., Asin., 746 conscripsti, 802 sc
For a large collection of examples see Neue-Wagener, III 500ooff.; see also Leum
234, 598.
7 si quid audieris: cf. Cic., Att., 7. I12. I 'quaeso ut scribas . . . si quid . . . audieris'.
8 quot.m: there is a marked thickening of the strokes in the last three letters, but we think it
unlikely that an erasure is intended. What is needed at this point is a personal name to
which illum in 1. 9 can refer. If these letters do indeed conceal a name, we need to explain
why it occurs in the accusative. Possibly it is to be regarded as a type of 'isolated' accusative
(see Hofmann-Szantyr, 29, Svennung, Palladius, 178ff., with extensive bibliography).
Sometimes an unconstrued nominative or accusative acts as a sort of heading (cf., e.g.,
Plaut., Amph., 1ioo9 'Naucratem, quem conuenire uolui, in naui non erat' (at the start of a
scene)), though usually such an accusative can be explained as due to ellipse, attraction,
conflation or the like (see Hofmann-Szantyr, loc. cit.). Here an accusative might have been
caused by anticipation of salutabis.
8f. in quo numero sit: presumably numerus in the military sense 'any unit, or part thereof'
(see M.P. Speidel, Epigraphica Anatolica vi (1985), 77 with n.17, and the passages cited
there; also idem, Roman Army Studies I (Amsterdam, 1984), 98f., and Davies, SRA, 17, 'in
numero referri' etc.).
9 illum: Chrauttius uses ille twice where is would have been possible (cf. 1. 12); he does not
use is in the letter. On the frequency of ille as compared with is in Petronius' Cena
Trimalchionis and the letters of Terentianus see Adams, Terentianus, 44.
9f. illum a me salutabis uerbis meis: the idiom a me salutabis also occurs at Inv. no.
85/loo+ io8 (unpublished) 'salutabis a me Diligentem' (cf. later in this letter, 11. 15f. rogo
... salutes a me Thuttenam). Salutabis displays the colloquial use of the future expressing a
command (Hofmann-Szantyr, 311; cf. the more usual saluta at e.g. Terentianus, CPL,
250.33, 251.48ff., Rustius Barbarus, CPL, 303.19, 305. 6). Later in the letter (1.ii) note
rogabis illum ut.
Verbis meis (usually with the possessive before the noun) is idiomatic = 'from me, in my
name'; Chrauttius has pleonastically combined two equivalent idioms, a me salutabis and
meis uerbis salutabis. For the expression 'greet someone meis / nostris uerbis', see Cic.,
Fam., 7.29.2 'Tironemque meum saluta nostris uerbis'; cf. also Att., 6.8.5 'Cicero tibi
plurimam salutem dicit, tu dices utriusque nostrum uerbis et Piliae tuae et filiae'. For meis
uerbis with different verbs cf. Cic., Att., 5.11.7 'tu uelim Piliam meis uerbis consolere',
Fam., 5.11.2 'ut ei meis uerbis diceret', Fam. 15.8, 'uxori tuae luniae . . .meis uerbis eris
gratulatus'.
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 39
13 promisit: the reading of the end of this word is doubtful since we cannot be certain how
many of the traces are really ink; a possible alternative reading is promissit; if this is correct,
for the double s see Britannia xviii (1987), 141-2.
pretio is an ablative (of price) used idiomatically. The instrumental function of this type
of ablative is most transparent when it occurs in conjunction with verbs of buying, = 'buy by
means of money', e.g. Plaut., Pseud., 169 'utpiscium quidquid ibistpretio praestinem', Cic.,
Rosc., 133 'quam tanto pretio nuper mercatus est' (see the examples at Kiihner-Stegmann, I
389). In this type of expression the ablative readily takes on the force 'in exchange for', and
may thus be used with a variety of verbs with which its instrumental function is not as
obvious. Here translate (literally) 'which he promised me in exchange for money'. Cf. e.g.
Virg., Aen., 4.21If. 'femina, quae nostris errans in finibus urbem / exiguam pretio posuit' (of
a woman who founded a city 'in exchange for money').
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40 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
14 mittas per aliquem: for this idiom in letters see, e.g., Inv. no.
(1987), 140), Terentianus, CPL, 250.19, 251.5, 8, Rustius Bar
304.12.
15 frater Virilis: the word order here should be contrasted with that in 1. 4. In third person
reference the term of affection frater (so too soror) is regularly placed after the name (see in
this letter 11. I, I16f., and 25f., also Rustius Barbarus, CPL, 303.1 'Pompeio fratri', and
304.1). But in the vocative frater is sometimes placed before the name as here; cf. Fronto
Epist., p. 188.7 (ed. M. van den Hout, 1988) 'fecisti, frater Contucci. . .', Calp., Ecl., 1.8
'hoc potius, frater Corydon, nemus, antra petamus / ista patris Fauni'. This is the marked
word order, suited to affectionate address. The unmarked order is, however, also found in
vocative expressions (e.g. Min. Fel., Oct., 3.1 'Marce frater').
rogo te frater Virilis: in lines I if. Chrauttius asks Veldedeius to convey a message to
Virilis. Here he apparently imagines himself as addressing Virilis directly. The switch into
direct address of someone who is not the addressee of the letter is striking and
unannounced, but it raises no great difficulty, particularly since Chrauttius has asked that
the greeting to Virilis should be uerbis meis. Cf. Apul., Met., 3.12, where Lucius addresses
the absent Byrrhena directly when sending a message to her through a slave.
15f. rogo. . . salutes: for rogo + subjunctive see Inv. no. 85/57.4f. (= Britannia xviii (1987),
138) rogo . . . facias; cf. Petron., 49.6 'rogamus mittas'. Further examples in KiIhner-
Stegmann, II 229.
16. thuttenam: a probable though by no means certain reading: the second t is particularly
uncertain and the initial letter could just possibly be c or even p.
17 sororem: for the affectionate term soror see Inv. no. 85/57.3, I I, 12 (= Britannia xviii
(1987), 138). The occurrence of a woman in this military context is noteworthy (cf. the
introduction).
Thuttenam sororem Velbuteium: an example of asyndeton bimembre, which is somewhat
unexpected. Velbuteius is presumably a Celtic name (see above, 1. I notes on Vel- and
-eius).
18 cumr...
over a piece
the letters of m
c and thearetablet has been
reasonably reversed
certain in the
and there photograph;
appears to be a uwhen thisthem;
between is turned
the traces in the rest of the line are unclear. We have suggested in the translation the way in
which we should like to understand these words. The obvious word to appear at this point is
quomodo but this cannot be read. We have considered the spellings cuomodo and comodo,
but we do not find either of these a convincing reading.
20 optq: the final o is hardly visible, but it seems to have run into the following s, where
there is a blob of ink at the point where the two strokes meet. Alternatively we must
suppose an error and read opt(o).
For opto + subjunctive see Kiihner-Stegmann, II 229 (cf. note to 15f. above). For
variations on this formula see Tab. Vindol., 22.I4ff. 'op[to] te felicissim[um] bene ualere,
uale frater', 38.11 'o]pto felicissimus uiuas', CIL III, 141658.6 'opto felicissimi bene ualeatis'
(see TLL, IX 2.83I.I12ff.), Terentianus, CPL, 251.64f. 'bene ualere te opto multis annis
felicissime'. For sis felix see TLL, VI i .444.24ff.-
21 On the photograph two small fragments of the tablet have been reversed. The ink visible
on the front belongs to fratre on the back (1.26).
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 41
23-24 These lines are written in larger letters than those preceding and following, but
not a capital script and in fact does not differ except in size from the cursive script used in
the rest of the letter.
24 equisioni: more usually equiso (e.g. Varro, Men., I1i8, Valerius Maximus, Apuleius:
TLL, V 2.726.39ff.). Equisio is found mainly in glosses but see also CIL il, 13370 (=
equiso: TLL, V 2.726.33). The suffix -io, which is common, in part probably derived from a
re-analysis of forms such as pelli-o, where the i strictly belongs to the root (see Vaininen,
Inscript. pomp., 96). Other such -o / -io doublets are found, e.g. furo /furio, both of which
survived in the Romance languages: see Meyer-Liibke, Romanisches etymologisches
Worterbuch, 3603; see too TLL, VI I.1629.I15ff.
2. OCTAVIUS TO CANDIDUS
Inv. no. 88/946. PLS. VII, VIII. (18.2 X 7-9 cm, 17.9 X 7.9 cm)
Of all the letters discovered at Vindolanda, this is by far the longest and cer
most interesting. It was found in the turf filling above the demolishe
fabrica, which probably belongs to Period IV (i.e. approximately A.D. IO
the floor of Period V.
It consists of two complete leaves of wood (PLS. VII, VIII) which have been scored an
folded in the usual manner. Each of the leaves has notches and tie-holes in the left- and
right-hand margins. Both the leaves are much defaced by offsets, indicating that the ink was
still wet when the leaves were folded. This also makes it apparent that the two leaves were
folded independently. There is no proper address on the reverse, merely the abbreviated
word uindol written diagonally across the top corner on the back of the right-hand side of
the second leaf. This would only be visible if the second leaf were placed beneath the first
after they had been folded. The most natural assumption is that uindol indicates the
destination of the letter. However, this cannot be regarded as certain; see above, pp. 34-5.
The lack of a full address presumably implies that the letter was to be delivered by someone
who was personally known to the recipient, or that the letter was to form part of a batch of
letters, all of which were being sent to Vindolanda.
The letter is written in the familiar two-column format, but with one striking oddity: the
letter begins on the right-hand side of the first leaf and continues with col.ii on the left-hand
side; col.iii is on the right of the second leaf and col.iv on the left. The normal pattern is
thus completely reversed. The most obvious explanation for this is that the writer was
left-handed and adopted this device in order to be able to read what he had written in the
first and third columns as he continued in the second and fourth. Since the closing section
(11.42-5) is written by the same hand as the rest of the text, we must assume that Octavius
wrote the letter himself.
The script has numerous cursive tendencies, including occasional ligatures and distortions
of the letter forms. Individual letters are often crudely made, notably h, m and n. o is made
in two halves and the right-hand half is at times curved in the 'wrong' direction so as to
make a ligature with the following letter (see, e.g., coria in 11. 31 and 33). The impression
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42 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 43
11
est ut quod
(denarios) arre
circa dedi perdam.
trecentos et erubes-
cam ita rogo quam primum aliquit
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44 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
iii
iv
pecuniam d.aret
nium iulium audiodabam
magnoeilice-
fronti-
4o re pro coriatione quem hic
comparauit (denarios) quinos
Back: uindol
Translation:
'Octavius to his brother Candidus, greetings. The hundred pounds of sinew from Marinu
- I will settle up. From the time when you wrote to me about this matter, he has not eve
mentioned it to me. I have several times written to you that I have bought about five
thousand modii of ears of grain, on account of which I need cash. Unless you send me som
cash, at least five hundred denarii, the result will be that I shall lose what I have laid out as a
deposit, about three hundred denarii, and I shall be embarrassed. So, I ask you, send me
some cash as soon as possible. The hides which you write are at Cataractonium - write tha
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 45
Notes
3 a marino: the name is well attested, but has not so far appeared elsewhere in the
Vindolanda texts. We have considered and rejected the possibility of reading a name
Amarino.
nerui: presumably genitive singular, the use of the word indicating 'animal tendon etc
used as material' (OLD s.v.2): cf. Vitr. I.I.8 'per quae tenduntur suculis et uectibus e neruo
torti funes'; Tac., Ann., 2.14.3 'non loricam Germano, non galeam, ne scuta quidem ferro
neruouefirmata'. One hundred pounds of this material seems a considerable quantity but
is not out of keeping with the quantities of other commodities mentioned in this letter.
4 explicabo: a problematical usage, but explico had a well-established financial use (TLL.
V.2.I731.17ff.), of sorting out, settling a debt, financial obligation or difficulty, whic
would fit the context here. The letter is full of financial terminology (cf. 11. 12, 24, 39ff
perhaps 3 1-2). In this sense explico is used absolutely, or with a sum of money as object,
with a variety of words as object, indicating the debt, burden, account, etc. It is common in
Cicero's letters to Atticus (io times): e.g. Att., 5.5.2 'sed ante quam proficiscare, utique
explicatum sit illud HS XX et DCCC'; I12.24.3 'Cispiana explicabis itemque Preciana
('please sort out the Cispius business and the Precius business likewise', Shackleton Bailey
I2.31.2 'si enim Faberianum uenderem, explicare uel repraesentatione non dubitarem de
Silianis' ('I should not hesitate to settle for Silius' place, even on a cash-down basis', SB)
13.29.1 'si Faberius nobis nomen illud explicat' ('if Faberius settles that debt he owes me',
SB); cf. B.Alex., 34.2 'Domitius, non tantum ad explicandos sumptus rei militaris cu
pecuniam necessariam esse iudicaret' (of 'meeting' expenses); Suet., Dom., I12.1I 'neque e
setius in explicandis oneribus haereret' (of 'settling' financial burdens); Dig., 42.I.3I 'si qu
debitores, quia non possint explicare pecuniam, differant solutionem' (of 'paying up',
'raising' money). Cf. Att.13.29.2., 15-17.1, 15.20.4 (twice), i6.i.5, 16.3.5. There is a good
deal of flexibility to this usage. The object of the verb need not define the debt in stric
financial terms, but may merely express the general 'burden' or 'business' to be 'sorted ou
financially (note Att.,I2.24.3 above).
e quo: sc. tempore, 'from the time when'. Augustan and later: Hofmann-Szantyr, 267, TLL
V.2. I090.65ff.
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46 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
The end of the line after hac has been left blank because of the tie-hole; similarly
and 31. Lines 16, 19, 40 and 42 are indented at the start for the same reason.
5 scripseras: epistolary pluperfect, cf. 1. 7, scripseram, 1. 31, fuerat, 1. 35, constituerat.
ne: = ne . . . quidem, a vulgarism mentioned by Quintilian (1.5-39, 'ne hoc fecit'
classifies it as detractio. First attested at Petron., 47.4 (see M.S. Smith, Petronii Arbitri C
Trimalchionis (Oxford, 1975), ad loc.), and also found in another Vindolanda text,
85/Ioo+io8 (unpublished) 'homo inpientissime qui mihi ne unam epistulam misisti'.
further Hofmann-Szantyr, 447f.
mentiQnem: the reading is inevitable, although the on is somewhat difficult; o is m
three, rather straight strokes, left open at the bottom and ligatured to n, which makes
letter combination look rather like cul; but no such word exists.
6 mihi fecit: the positioning of object pronouns (direct and indirect) in the letter is of s
interest. In eleven places the pronoun is next to the verb (cf.6-7, tibi scripseram, Io,
mi, 15, mi mitte, 17, dentur mi, 19, mi scribe, illec cepissem, 27, mi mittas, 31-2
adsignarem, 33, dixi ei, 38, dabam ei). The only example of separation is a special ca
non illos mi accepto tulit), because accepto tulit is virtually an indivisible unit. Simil
No.I there are six cases of juxtaposition (4, rogo te, 11-12, rogabis illum, 13, mihipr
15, rogo te, 18, rescribas nobis, 19, se habeat) against two of separation (5-6, mih
rescripsti, 9, illum. . . salutabis). In other colloquial texts of this period juxtaposition
the norm. In the letters of Claudius Terentianus juxtaposition outnumbers separati
73:8 (Adams, Terentianus, 69), and there are further cases of juxtaposition in pub
Vindolanda texts (see Tab. Vindol., p. 74, Section D for examples). For statistics fr
variety of other texts, see H. Ramsden, Weak-Pronoun Position in the Early Rom
Languages (Manchester, 1963), 30.
The positioning of object pronouns in colloquial Latin contrasts with that in lit
Latin, where separation continues to be common, partly because of the lingering eff
Wackernagel's law, and partly because the literary language made greater use of w
order variation to convey emphasis and for stylistic reasons. In the first book of P
Epistulae, for example, which is roughly contemporary with the Vindolanda mat
separation outnumbers juxtaposition by about 57:43. With 1. 14 of the present lett
rogo quam primum aliquit (denariorum) mi mitte, contrast e.g. Pliny, Epis
'flagitabas, ut tibi aliquid ex scriptis meis mitterem'; and with lines 18f., quit sit cum eo
mi scribe, cf. Pliny, Epist., I1.22.12 'quid uelis agere inuicem nobis, sed laetioribus e
scribe'.
7 spicas: the reading is not quite certain - i is not easy and p is very oddly written if correctly
read; nevertheless the word must be accounted very probable in the context. Normally it
means ears of corn, which we assume to be meant here, but it can refer to other cereals (see
OLD s.v.). Does he use this rather than frumentum because he is buying it unthreshed (cf.
11.26-9)?
8 prQpe: the reading of op is far from certain because the leaf is badly defaced by offsets at
this point; indeed of the word as a whole only the final e is beyond question.
5000 modii is a very large quantity of grain. It is unfortunate that there is no indication as
to where Octavius got it from, but the quantity and the financial transaction suggest that
army supply was not a straightforward matter of requisitioning annona.
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 47
14f. aliquit (denariorum) mi mitte: here mi precedes mitte, which is the last word o
sentence. Contrast I.I0o, where mi follows mittis but is not left standing as the last word
the clause. On the tendency for dative pronouns, in juxtaposition with the verb, t
enclosed by two stressed elements see Tab. Vindol., p. 74, Sect. D.
15 With coria we not only begin a new sentence but move on to a new subject altoge
For que = quae see above, on 1.12.
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48 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
i6f. scribe dentur mi: cf. Cic., Fam., 16.4.2 'scripsi ad Curium quod dixisses daret',
Gall., 5.46.4 'scribit Labieno, si rei publicae commodo facere posset, cum legione ad
Neruiorum ueniat'. This type of paratactic sentence, whereby the plain (jussive) subju
without ut follows the governing verb, continued to be fairly common through th
Republic and into the early Empire (for a large collection of examples see Ki
Stegmann, II 227ff.; cf. Hofmann-Szantyr, 530); it may have had a colloquial flavou
another example see 11.32f. desiderabat coria ei adsignarem.
16-18 scribe dentur mi et karrum de quo scribis: if the meaning is 'write that they shou
given to me, and that the carrus about which you write (should be given to me)', k
could be the neuter by-form of the usual carrus (see B.Hisp., 6.2 'carra complu
retraxit'). Alternatively, if it is masculine accusative, the construction would be a constru
ad sensum, with the accusative determined by the underlying idea that someone s
'give' the carrus to Octavius.
18 quit: cf. aliquit (ll.Io and 14), siquit (1.29). The tendency for final d to become vo
before voiceless consonants, and conversely for final t to be voiced before vowels
voiced consonants, caused writers to be unsure of the correct spelling in words ending in
and -t. This writer writes t in -quit, but d in quod (11.9 and 12).
19 illec = illaec, neuter plural. On the form illic (illaec etc.) see TLL, s.v. and A
Terentianus, 45 (common in early Latin; in colloquial use later). For examples of the
plural illaec see Neue-Wagener, II 429.
cepissem.: petissem would be equally acceptable as a reading. In view of the writer's
accipere for 'get' (1. 37) cepissem is perhaps slightly preferable.
20 nissi: this spelling is also found in the Bath curse tablets (see B. Cunliffe, The Tem
Sulis Minerva at Bath, vol.II (1988), with the notes of R.S.O. Tomlin on 32.7 and 65.I
the first century A.D. double s was simplified after a long vowel or diphthong (Quint., 1
caussa > causa). In popular Latin there was a complementary tendency for s to be do
after a short vowel. Possuit is common in inscriptions (see F. Sommer, Handbuch
lateinischen Laut- und Formenlehre4 I, revised by R. Pfister (Heidelberg, 1977), 156
Baehrens, Sprachlicher Kommentar zur vulgiirlateinischen Appendix Probi (Halle,
76). The form bassilica, which is found at CIL iv, 1779 twice (see VdiIininen, Inscr
pomp., 6o, on this and a few other comparable spellings), is criticized by the App
Probi (199).-
iumenta non curaui uexsare: curo is sporadically construed with the infinitive (as
distinct from ut) from Cato onwards (TLL, IV 1499.43ff., Hofmann-Szantyr, 346), with
the colloquial language no doubt favouring the infinitive. Later in the letter (ll.36f.)
cf. nec curauit accipere. In both places the dependent infinitive follows the governing
verb, as at ll.27f. ut possim spicam habere. Postposition of the infinitive was probably the
norm in colloquial Latin by this time. Cf. Tab. Vindol., 21.7f. 'conueniat hoc pro te
precari,
iucundam22.7 [ut ueleis
experiri'. There. .are
. einosubscribere', 37.22ff.
examples of the 'utorder
reverse beneficio
in thetuo militiam
material [po]ssim
so far
published.
Vexo was idiomatic of a horse or other quadruped hurting itself in the course of work or a
journey: Schol.Iuu., 8.148 'sufflamen uinculum ferreum, quod inter radios mittitur, dum
cliuum descendere coeperit raeda, ne celerius rotae sequantur et animalia uexent', Pelago-
nius, 216.2 'cum equi uexauerint [sc. lumbos], similis a te cura ac diligentia praebeatur' (cf.
ibid. 'equi plerumque lumbos nimio pondere laedunt' . . .), 233 'si a rota uexauerit (= se
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 49
21 dum uiae male sunt: male is unlikely to be the adverb: the usual complement of male est is
a dative (of a thing or person affected), expressed or understood (TLL, VIII 237.7ff., OLD
s.v. male Ib, Hofmann-Szantyr, 171). Via mala was no doubt idiomatic for a 'bad road': cf.
Hor., Sat. 1.5.96 'uia peior ad usque / Bari moenia piscosi', Apul., Met. 9.9 'rursum ad uiam
prodeunt, uia tota quam nocte confeceramus longe peiorem' (see TLL, VIII 215.53f.). Male
is a misspelling for malae (on this see above, I.12n.).
2If. uide. . . de: for this idiom ('see about') cf. Cic., Att., 11.24.2 'uide, quaeso, etiam nunc
de testamento', 12.6.1 'de Caelio uide, quaeso', 15.8.2 'de te, quaeso, etiam atque etiam uide'.
For further examples, mainly from Terence and Cicero, see J.L. North, NT Studies 29
(1983), 264-5, suggesting that 18tyv EQgL in the N.T. may be a Latinism.
tertio: a possible alternative reading is certio.
23 non illos mi accepto tulit: between mi and accepto the writer has left a blank space of 3
cm, presumably because the piece now missing from the bottom of the tablet was already
missing when the letter was written.
The expression is a variant of the classical financial formula aliquid mihi acceptum
(re)ferre (for which see TLL, I 314.13ff., OLD s.v. fero 24b). Aliquid mihi accepto ferre
turns up for the first time in the early imperial period: see Stat., Silv., 2 prol. 'honorem eius
tibi laturus accepto est' ('the honour he obtains from it he will credit to you'), Tert., Apol.,
13.8 'accepto ferent dei uestri' ('your gods will give you credit for it': J.E.B. Mayor,
Q.Septimi Florentis Tertulliani Apologeticus, with translation by A. Souter (Cambridge,
1917), with note ad loc.), and TLL, I 321.82ff. Accepto is the substantivized participle
acceptum = 'thing received', pecunia accepta (so TLL, I 321.82ff., O. Hey, ALL Io (1898),
128). The case can only be predicative dative.
24 scito mae explesse: the reading of the first two words is far from certain, but the sense
produced is exactly that required. For spellings showing ae for e see R.G.G. Coleman,
TPhS 1971, 186-90, esp. 189, citing a case of sae = se (CIL IIn, 8412). For scito me in letters
cf. Cic., Fam. 2.15.1 'qua re scito me sperare . . .', Rustius Barbarus, CPL, 3o3.14f. 'scito
enim me.'
25 bracis: the second example of this Celtic word which has turned up at Vindolanda (c
Tab. Vindol., 5.16). A kind of cereal (see Tab. Vindol., p. 96; also Plin., Nat.Hist., 18.62
but of 'genre inconnu' (J. Andr6, Les noms de plantes dans la Rome antique (Paris, 198
37).
excussi: excutio (lit. 'shake, strike (something) out of (something else)') could be used of
threshing, cf. TLL, V 2.1309. 32-6: see esp. Col., 2.10.14 'nam semina excussa in area
iacebunt, superque ea paulatim eodem modo reliqui fasciculi excutientur', quoted by K.D.
White, Agricultural Implements of the Roman World (Cambridge, 1967), 32, who trans-
lates, following the Loeb, 'for the seeds that have been beaten out will lie on the floor, and
the other bundles will be threshed out on top of them, little by little, in the same manner'.
The method of threshing here is described by Columella in the preceding section. He is
dealing with beans: a moderate number of bundles (fasciculi) is placed at one end of the
threshing floor; three or four men then push them along with their feet, beating them
(contundere) with sticks or forks. Excutio is applied to a different method of threshing at
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50 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
Varro, Rust., 1.52.I 'e spicis in area excuti grana.' In this case yo
threshing-sledge (tribulum) over frumentum, which by its pressure separa
the ear (note 'discutit e spica grana'). Obviously excutio was not a tech
particular method of threshing, but was a general term for the separa
crop from the rest by shaking, striking or the application of pressure.
Excutio survives in some areas in the Romance languages in the sens
escodre: see W. von Wartburg, Franzasisches etymologisches Worterbu
Meyer-Liibke, Romanisches etymologisches WOrterbuch, 2998).
26f. possim: the word is inescapable in the context but the ending is diffi
suppose the writer put im at the beginning of 1. 28, both the letters are o
word division cf. uentur/um in 11. 35-6). The alternative is to take the tra
27, which goes through the o at the end of the line below, as ink (and
possi/m; but such a word division would be bizarre.
27 spicam: at 1. 7 the plural was used but here the writer prefers the
Botanical terms are frequently used in the collective singular (e.g. fab
plural examples see TLL, VI 1.2.52ff.). For a large collection of ex
including spica) see Svennung, Palladius, 169f.; cf. Hofmann-Szantyr,
Rust., 1.52.1 'e spicis in area excuti grana' with ibid., discutit e spica g
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TWO LETTERS FROM VINDOLANDA 51
37f. si pecuniam dcaret, dabem ei: the imperfect subjunctive may be used in the protasis and
apodosis of conditional sentences as a 'past potential': e.g. Cic., Att., 2.21.4 'Apelles si
Venerem aut Protogenes si Ialysum illum suum caeno oblitum uideret magnum, credo,
acciperet dolorem', 'I suppose that if Apelles had seen his Venus or Protogenes his Ialysus
daubed with filth, he would have felt a pang. . .' (Shackleton Bailey) (see Ernout-Thomas,
378, Kiihner-Stegmann, II 396f., S.A. Handford, The Latin Subjunctive, its usage and
development from Plautus to Tacitus (London, 1947), 125). Sometimes the imperfect
indicative replaces the subjunctive in the apodosis (as here): e.g. Caes., Ciu., 1.82.5 'si
proelium committeretur, propinquitas castrorum celerem . . . receptum dabat' (see the
passages collected by Kiihner-Stegmann, II 397f.).
38f. Frontinium lulium: a new sentence must begin at this point. For the order cognomen,
nomen, which is not uncommon at this period, see, e.g., R. Syme, Historia vii (1958), 172,
174. For Frontinius as a cognomen see I. Kajanto, The Latin Cognomina (Helsinki, 1965),
236.
38-41. This sentence is baffling. procoriatione is a major crux and it is by no means the only
difficulty.
There is an active liceo and a deponent liceor. The active has two main uses: (a) = 'to be
for sale' (TLL, VII 2.1357.61ff.), e.g. Cic., Att. 12.23.3 'de Drusi hortis, quanti licuisse tu
scribis, id ego quoque audieram'; with the genitive of value quanti here, contrast the
ablative of price at Sen., Contr., 1.7.3 'magno licet' (magno here (1.39) must be this same
usage); (b) with a personal subject = 'have for sale', with accusative of the thing offered for
sale (TLL, VII 2.1357.71), e.g. Plin., Nat., 35.88 'quanti liceret (pictor) opera effecta'. The
deponent means 'bid for' (at auction) (TLL, VII 2.1357.81ff.), e.g. Sen., Contr., 1.2.4 'in
auctione nemo uoluit liceri'. Octavius has presumably used the first verb (rather than the
deponent in an active form). If comparauit means 'bought', as seems likely (for this
common sense see TLL, III 2011.26ff., OLD s.v. 3b; cf. e.g. Sp. comprar), there must be a
contrast expressed between buying at a certain price and selling, offering for sale, at a
different (higher) price. If so, the meaning of magno licere pro (assuming that pro is the
preposition) would be something like 'is asking a high price for'. It is a difficulty that liceo is
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52 A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS AND J.N. ADAMS
42f.letters
the im..rium.:
at the end ofno doubt
1. 42. another proper name, but we have not as yet succeeded in reading
45 uale: probably this is all that was written in this line, the apparent traces of ink at the
right being merely offset.
46 uindol: unlike the majority of letters found at Vindolanda this letter does not contain a
proper address. All we have on the back of one of the two tablets is uindol, apparently
written in the same hand as the letter on the front.
This paper is published with the aid of a grant from the Council for British Archaeology.
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PLATE V
470 sheet I
*......
470 sheet 2
0i,iii
Vindolanda Text no. i, inv. no. 86/470, Sheets i and 2 (front): Letter from Chrauttius to Veldedeius. Each sheet is
7 cm wide. (p. 33)
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PLATE VI
470 sheet 2 R*
'y 4
N r 2'
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~~AL
ir
:iii:,iiiiI NAl
Col. II Col. I
(P
Vindolanda Tex
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Pik
(P
Vindolanda Text
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